More than 583,000 men have been circumcised since 2008, as part of the voluntary medical male circumcision program. The VMMC beneficiaries also received HIV prevention and counseling services in a drive organized by the National Aids/STI Control Program.

The program, which started in 2008, aims to reach 860,000 voluntarily circumcisions by October.

“The response to the program has been remarkable, considering that it is concentrated in communities that traditionally do not circumcise their men,” said Dr. Athanasius Ochieng, VMMC national program manager.

Kenya is home to one of the world’s harshest HIV and AIDS epidemics. An estimated 1.6 million people are living with HIV, around 1.1 million children have been orphaned by AIDS, and in 2011 nearly 62,000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses.

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If the HIV rate goes down, it will be because of the counselling, not the circumcision. In 10 out of 18 countries for which USAID has figures, more of the CIRCUMCISED men have HIV than the non-circumcised. One study started to show that circumcising men increases the risk to women, but that was cut short before it could be confirmed.

Eli Beer stunned the 16,500 AIPAC conference participants by arriving on stage with lights and sirens blaring on an ambucycle, a specially equipped motorcycle ambulance designed by United Hatzalah to speed up emergency response times.

Eli Beer stunned the 16,500 AIPAC conference participants by arriving on stage with lights and sirens blaring on an ambucycle, a specially equipped motorcycle ambulance designed by United Hatzalah to speed up emergency response times.

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